Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients often face a unique set of health risks, including higher rates of hepatitis among gay men and increased risk factors for breast cancer among lesbians. Past research conducted at Stanford highlighted the need to better train future physicians on how to care for the LGBT community. Now findings published in the American Journal of Public Health show national funding for LGBT medical research is also lacking, which is contributing to health inequities for patients.

During the study (subscription required), researchers examined studies funded by the the National Institutes of Health between 1989 and 201 and found 628 pertained to LGBT health issues, which accounts for one-half of one percent of all studies supported by the institute. A significant portion of these studies focused on sexual health matters, including HIV/AIDS, and the majority related to health of sexual minority men. Studies unrelated to sexual health matters accounted for one tenth of one percent of all studies during this time period.

In a release, study authors made the following recommendations to boost funding for LGBT studies and reduce inequalities in care:

Establish policies that designate LGBT people as priority populations for research that goes beyond HIV/AIDS and sexual health issues.

Explore new strategies to increase the amount of LGBT health research, including support for diversity among researchers.

Support efforts to expand the pool of trained researchers prepared to propose LGBT research projects through training grants, fellowships, career awards and the establishment of LGBT Centers of Excellence.

The scenario many of us learned in school is that two X chromosomes make someone female, and an X and a Y chromosome make someone male. These are simplistic ways of thinking about what is scientifically very complex.